1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus, and, more particularly, to a mechanism for ejecting a loaded cartridge containing a magnetic tape by electrical power.
2. Description of the Related Art
A description will now be given of a conventional magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19A and 19B. FIG. 18 is a plan view of the conventional magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus. FIG. 19A is a sectional view taken along line 19A--19A of FIG. 18, and FIG. 19B is a side view of the main portion of the conventional magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus of FIG. 19A.
The conventional magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus 31 (hereinafter referred to as "apparatus 31") comprises a base plate 31a at the bottom portion thereof, and a pair of opposing rail-like guide members 31b and 31c having a U-shaped groove. In FIG. 18, the guide members 31b and 31c are disposed at the top right and the bottom right sides of the apparatus 31.
As shown in FIG. 19A, a pair of openings 31d are formed in the portion of the base plate 31a where the guide members 31b and 31c are disposed.
At the right end of the magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus of FIG. 19A is formed an opening 31e for inserting therein a cartridge 33 (described later) into the magnetic recording apparatus as a result of guiding a bottom plate 33c of the cartridge 33.
At the back side of the base plate 31a at which the guide members 31b and 31c are disposed is provided a pair of largely resilient plate springs 32, one end of each being screwed and the other end of each being a free end. At the free end of each plate spring 32 is provided a stopper portion 32a formed by bending the free end of each plate spring 32. Stopper rollers 32b are rotatably supported by their corresponding stopper portions 32a.
Each stopper roller 32b is disposed at its associated opening 31d in the base plate 31a, and is vertically movable in its associated opening 31d, with its associated screwed portion as fulcrum.
The cartridge 33, indicated by alternate long and two short dashed lines in FIGS. 18 and 19A and 19B, is inserted from the insertion opening 31e and guided along the guide members 31a and 31b in order to be loaded in the apparatus 31. The cartridge 33 contains a magnetic tape 33a therein, and, as shown in FIG. 19B, has a pair of U-shaped guide grooves 33b at both outer sides thereof. The pair of guide grooves 33b are guided along the aforementioned rail-like guide members 31b and 31c in order to guide the cartridge 33 into the apparatus 31.
A cutout 33d is formed in the portion of the bottom plate 33c in which each of the guide grooves 33b of the cartridge 33 is formed. A pinch roller 33f is rotatably disposed in the cartridge 33 in order to transport the magnetic tape 33a horizontally through a tape advancing belt 33g.
A magnetic head 34 and a transporting roller 35 are disposed in the apparatus 31.
In order to load the cartridge 33 into the apparatus 31, one end of the cartridge 33 is inserted manually from the opening 33e in the apparatus 31, in the direction of arrow D.
This causes the one end of the bottom plate 33c of the cartridge 33 to bump into the stopper rollers 32b provided at their respective plate springs 32.
From this state, when the cartridge 33 is pushed further into the apparatus 31 with a stronger force, the bottom plate 33c of the cartridge 33 pushes the stopper rollers 32b downward, causing the plate springs 32 to be flexed downward and the stopper rollers 32b to come into resilient contact with the under side of the bottom plate 33c.
When the cartridge 33 is pushed even further into the apparatus 31, the rollers 32b, which were pushed down by the under side of the bottom plate 33c, move upward into the cutout 33d of the cartridge 33 as a result of a large resilient force produced by the plate springs 32. When this happens, each stopper roller 32b comes into resilient contact with an edge defining the cutout 33d, and pushes it obliquely upward in the direction of arrow C. This causes the pinch roller 33f of the cartridge 33 to press-contact the transporting roller 35 in the apparatus and to stop moving, whereby the cartridge 33 is loaded in the apparatus 31.
With the pinch roller 33f being press-contacted against the transporting roller 35, rotation of the transporting roller 35 causes rotation of the pinch roller 33f, allowing the magnetic tape 33a to be run horizontally through the tape advancing belt 33g in the cartridge 33.
When the cartridge 33 is loaded into the apparatus 33, a command from, for example, an external computer (not shown), is transmitted to rotate the transporting roller 35, allowing predetermined information to be recorded onto or reproduced from the magnetic tape 33a by a magnetic head 34.
The cartridge 33 is ejected from the apparatus 31 by manually and strongly pulling in the direction of arrow E the back end 33e of the cartridge 33 protruding out from the apparatus 31 of FIG. 18. When this is done, the stopper rollers 32b move downward and out from the cutout 33d of the cartridge 33, whereby the cartridge 33 is removed from the apparatus 31.
However, in the above-described conventional apparatus 31, since the installation and removal of the cartridge 33 are carried out manually, the plate springs 32 are required to provide a large resilient force. As a result, a large force (of approximately 1.5 to 3 Kgf) is required for cartridge 33 installation and removal, making it extremely difficult for a disabled operator to install and remove the cartridge 33.
In comparing the amount of force required to install and remove the cartridge 33, more force is required to remove the cartridge 33 than is required to insert it because the operator must strongly grip the rear end 33e of the cartridge 33 in order to pull it out of the apparatus 31. As a result, it is more difficult to remove the cartridge 33 than to insert it.